Depeche Mode, “Sounds of the Universe” (Capitol) This latest full-length release from Britain’s new-wave titans is the perfect case study for the still-limping music industry. Will fans buy the entire disc, or will they download three or four tracks?

The band and its label have given fans no reason to own all of these “Sounds.” But there are three songs you can feel good about owning. And here they are:

“In Chains” is a far superior track to the CD’s lead single, “Wrong,” but they both belong on your MP3 player. “In Chains” has one of those classic Depeche Mode midsong breakdowns — one of the most powerful songwriting devices of the ’80s. “Wrong” is the more upbeat, radio-friendly outing, what with its apocalyptic synths and dramatic blasts of harmonies.

“Miles Away/The Truth Is” is the most musically complex song the band has released in years, and it makes for an exciting listen. If you’re feeling flush, try out “Perfect,” which is written around a simple melody — something that can be said of many of the band’s best songs.

None of the other tracks is all that memorable. “Peace,” despite its self-reflective lyrical tone, sounds like a modern-day approach to the band’s 1981 single “Dreaming of Me.” Yet, “Come Back” has the band owning up to its pop-industrial reputation with the harder, colder sounds that defined 1993’s “Songs of Faith and Devotion.”

“Fragile Tension” is too busy, and amid all the twisty programming, it loses its direction. “My Little Soul,” has the record’s most compelling atmospherics, but the meandering track wanders a bit too much. And “Spacewalker” is a useless, two-minute instrumental B-side that has no business on a finished studio full-length. Ricardo BacaSuperchunk, “Leaves in the Gutter” (Merge) New Superchunk music seems almost beside the point. The North Carolina band has secured a prime spot in the indie-rock trophy case and like many aging acts, it probably stands a better chance of tarnishing its legacy than shining it up when releasing new music. But the quality of this new EP only reinforces what a stellar band Superchunk is and makes the prospect of another full-length release tantalizing.

It’s been eight years since Superchunk released an album, but the opening notes of “Learned to Surf” make it seem like the band never left. Even in their 20th year of running their label, Merge Records, co-founders Mac McCaughan (guitar/vocals) and Laura Ballance (bass) sound as sprightly as ever, trading punk-informed riffs and rhythms that leap through the headphones and carve a home in your gray matter.

Straight-ahead pop rock with a wry, occasionally wounded smile has always been one of the band’s strong points, and the tracks “Misfits and Mistakes” and “Screw it Up” feature it in spades. “Knock Knock Knock,” like the rest of the songs, has been kicking around in concert for a few years. Here it gets a proper rendering with McCaughan’s layered vocals adding heft to an otherwise basic construction. Even the acoustic demo for “Learned to Surf,” the EP’s fifth and final track, is a fun, breezy offering, compelling you to go back and listen to the whole thing all over again. John Wenzel

John Wenzel is a member of the Now Team, having covered comedy, music, film, books and video games for The Denver Post for more than a decade. As a proud Dayton, Ohio native, his love of Guided by Voices is about equal to his other obsessions, including Peter Jackson's Middle-earth, "Mr. Show" quotes and Onitsuka Tigers.

Vic Damone, a pop crooner whose creamy baritone and heartthrob good looks propelled his success at the jukebox and on-screen in the post-World War II era, and for five decades more in nightclubs and concert halls, died Feb. 11 at a hospital in Miami Beach. He was 89.